Method of providing and placing piers



April 1.o, 192s. 1,665,796

.' G. B. SIFE METHOD OF PROVIDING AND PLACING PIERS Filed Nov.5. 1923 4Sheets-Sheet 1 April 1o, 192s. 1,665,796

G. B. SIFE METHOD OF PROVIDING AND PLACING PIERS Filed NON/25. 1923 4Sheets-Sheet 2 -HE. E; M,

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Filed Nov.5. 1925 la. .444x A A@ ,S Z

Patented Apr. 10, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE B. SIPE, OF SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA.

METHOD OF PROVIDING AND PLACING PIERS.

Application filed November 5, 1923. Serial No. 673,036.

cipal object of the invention is to provide methods by which such piersmay be formed and placed firmly supported upon and anchored to bed rockso that they will not only sustain both dead and live loads `comingthereupon but also effectively withstand the lateral pressure of suchformations subjacent to the body of water in which the pier is disposedas floating sand or quick sand.

In contradistinction to what is now common practice, where dependencemust be placed upon the friction between piles and the formationsubjacent to the body of water, where bed rock is so remote from thebody of water as to preclude the possibility of driving piles, orresorting to the use of pneumatic caissons, or cofferdams, the presentmethod permits of the extending of piles to bed rock even though suchmay be a considerable distance from the bottom of the body of. water.Also, in contra-distinction to what is now common practice, the pilesmay be caused to extend into the bed rock, thus firmly anchoring thesuperstructure to the bed rock. If piles are driven or otherwise sunk arigid mass, upon engaging bed rock, they will either split, bendlaterally, or become broomed under continued blows of the hammer, butpenetrate the bed rock to no perccivable extent. Thus piles may besubjected to displacement by fioating sand or quick sand, and many piershave come to grief, by dependence having been placed upon relativelyshort piles, even though resting upon bed rock, due to interveningstrata or formation of a floating character which has caused the pilesto tilt.

Another object of the present invention is to enable the caisson orconductor to be assembled at the site and progressively lowered assections are added in contradistinctlion to what is disclosed in mycopending application for Letters Patent on method of producingsubaqueous foundations, piers, break- Waters, etc., filed Nov. 3, 1923,and bearing Serial No. 672,538 wherein the caisson or conductor is, inthe main, constructed remote from the site and floated thereto when allis in readiness to receive same.

A further object of the present invention is to enable the piers to becompleted in a short period of time as compared with the methods usingpneumatic caissons or cofferdams and to not subject the workmen to suchdangers,-the entrance into cavities and working in compressed air orplaces where the collapse of walls would prove fatal.

This is mainly accomplished by the use of apparatus which permits all ofthe workmen to remain above the surface of the Water, the work beingcarried on by apparatus supported on suitable barges, and the pilesproduced and placed as by following the methods disclosed in mycopending applications for patents filed October 26, 1923, Serial No.671,015, and November 3, 1923, Serial No. 672,538, and in whichconnection reference may also be made to the principle embodied inrotary drill apparatus, which has proven successful in the drilling ofoil wells, in Which connection reference may be had to the U. S. Patents1,360,328, 1,379,483 and 1,451,794, granted November 30th, 1920, May 24,1921, and April 17, 1923, respectively, on the inventions of JohnC.Stokes. Such apparatus comprises a hollow drill stem for impartingrotary movement to a collapsible bit, which bit, in its working positionis supported by a drill collar or holder in such a manner that the bitmay cut a hole substantially twice the diameter of the drill stem, andyet be withdrawn and replaced through the stem when such is desired.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in thefollowing .de-

tailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specification, and in which drawings,

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view showing a suitable platform,disposed at the site where the pier is to be located, and disclosing thecalsson embraced by the platform and capable of-being lowered withrespect thereto.V

Fig. 2 is a view partly in elevation and partly in central verticalsection, Showing the hollow caisson with its.lower portion extendingthrough the muddy bottom of the body of water where the pier is to belocated. and with certain apparatus forming cavities in the formationsubjacent to the body of water.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional View through a portion of thehollow caisson.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailed central vertical sectional view through acylinder formin a part of the caisson.

Iig. 5 is a top plan view of a finished pier.

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Figure 2, but showing the pier completed.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged central vertical sectional view through one of thecylinders and adjacent portions of the caisson and showing the relativeposition thereof to the muddy bottom and formation subjacent to the bodyof water in which the pier isv to be located.

Fig. 8 is asimilar view, but showing the drilling of arcavity open tothe cylinder and disclosing more in detail the method where floatingsand is encountered subjacent to the body ofy water.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Figure 8, but showing the cavity andcylinder lled with concrete, thus linking the caisson to the bed rock;

In the drawings, where like characters designate similar orcorresponding formations or parts, throughout the several views,

' the letter A designates a body of water, such as a river; B the muddybottom which usually prevails beneath the water; C more firm, yetcompressible soil or formation subjacent to the body of water and whichmay be made up of various strata such as sand, gravel, clay, rock, etc.,and in which floating sand, such as that indicated at C', may often befound; and D, bed rock, the distance of which beneath the body of watervaries in different localities. Because of the great distance of the bedrock from the river bottom in some localities, such has caused theabandonment of many projects in the past due to the proposed load beintoo great to rely upon the friction of pi es with respect to theformation C and the great expense and possible failure to reach the bedrock D by pneumatic caissons.

The character E designates a suitable work platform, such as four bargesF firmly lashed or otherwise secured together in a manner to provide anelongated opening G ofa size somewhat greater than the cross section ofthe pier to be formed and placed.

This platform E may contain the necessary machinery and apparatus, (notshown' in the drawings) for the assembly of a hollow caisson H which maybe lowered in opening G, and also for the provision of a great number ofpiles J extended into bed rock.

While the pier designated by K may be of any desired size and shape,that shown by way of example, is elliptical in cross section and hencethe caisson H is shaped accordingly.

In .the example shown, the work platform E includes the four barges, twoof Which are disposed in spaced apart relation, a distance slightlygreater than the width of the pier to be formed, and two barges arearranged in parallel relation, a distance substantially equal to thelength of the first mentioned barges, as shown in Figure 1, with theends of some of the barges abutt-in against the sides of the otherbarges, al being lashed or. otherwise secured together, as by cables orbars 10. Thus a comparatively rigid work platform may be provided, andanchored, and if necessary secured by cables extending to the land, andso arranged as to embrace and permit of the supporting and lowering ofthe hollow caisson H as it is assembled, and directly above the placewhere piles are to be sunk to bed rock.

With reference to the hollow caisson, such comprises a plurality ofupright hollow cylinders 11, arranged in 'juxtaposed relation; a form 12carried by and arranged exteriorly of the cylinders to the shape of thepiers to be formed; and a suitable bracing structure or device 13disposed inwardly of the cylinders, so as to firmly support thecylinders in juxtaposed relation.

The cylinders 11 may be made. in sections and joined in any suitablemanner, such as by welding, and the form 12 may be secured to thecylinders by the provision of suitable wooden uprights 14 securedlongitudinally to each cylinder, to which the form may be spiked orotherwise secured, there being provided suitable ties 15, secured to theform 12, extending between adjacent cylinders 11 and secured to suitablewedges 16 disposed between the peripheries of adjacent cylinders atpoints opposite to the form 12. These ties 15 not only aid in securingthe form to the cylinders, and in holding the cylinders to a positionconstituting the wall of the caisson, but when the caisson is filledwith concrete, these ties act as reinforcement to tie certain masses ofconcrete to the major central mass.

As the cylinders are lowered, they may have sections added thereto, atwhich time sections of the form 12 may also be added, and the assemblylowered.. In order to buoy the caisson and thus relieve the barges ofsome of the load, there may be provided in the cylinders 11, suitableremovable closures 17, preferably of a frangible nature, such as is moreclearly shown in Figure 4. Such closure may consist of a disc 18, madeof wood fitting nicely the interior of the cylinder, and a suitablesealing of neat cement 19 and 20, above and below the disc 18, thissealing being somewhat formed by rings 21. It is preferred to disposethis closure adjacent the lower portion of the cylinder, where it actsas a partition, thus making the upper portion of the main body of thecaisson, open to the atmosphere, and its lower end portion capable ofentrapping air as the caisson is lowered in the water. these removablepartitions adjacent the lower portion of the caisson also tends to buoythe caisson directly after the first few sections of the cylinders havebeen assembled and partly or wholly submerged. In this way the barges Fare relieved somewhat of their load, and the hollow caisson H ispermitted to descend, its lower end portion readily penetrating the softmud and extending into the more firm formation subjacent to the body ofwater. While the frangible partitions may be broken through at any timeit is desired to relieve the caisson of some of its buoyancy, it ispreferred to remove these partitions at a time when the lower endportion has penetrated the more firm formation to tha-t extent where thesea or river water will be excluded from the cylinders and then, bybreaking the par tit-ions, and releasing the` compressed air, thecaisson will sink further into the more firm formation. If thepartitions are made of wood or some material which will float, theintroduction of water into each cylinder, as shown in the third cylinderfrom the right of Figure 2, andcontinuing the introduction of this waterwill cause the partition to float to the surface where it may be removedfrom the path of drill apparatus 22 which is guided downwardly throughthe cylinders for the purpose of providing cavities 23 open to thecylinders and extending through the formation C and to or into the bedrock D.

In my aforesaid application filed October 26, 1923, there is disclosed amethod of producing and placing piles by use of rotary drill apparatusand it therefore suffices to state that this drill apparatus comprises adrill stem 24 to which rotary motion is imparted in any suitable manner,and a drill bit 25 held in an operative position by drill collar 2G atthe lower end portion of the drill stem 24. The drill stem may be madeup in sections 27, suitably joined together as by collars 28.

Vhere it has been determined, such as by borings, previous to theinitial steps in the formation and placing of the pier, that there is nofloating sand or other strata which would cause trouble, and theformation subjacent to the body of water is firm enough to be selfsustaining, so to speak, no hollow casing need be provided to follow thedrill as it penetrates the formation, as shown in Figure '2. However,where there are indications of floating sand, such as that indicated atC in Figures 8 and 9 it is necessary to resort to the use of a liner 29and a hollow casing 30, the function of which will be more fully setforth hereinafter.

As clearly shown in Figures 2 and 6 of the drawings, when no liner 29and hollow casing 30 is to be used, the frangble parti- Placing ,tion 18may be removed leaving in place the rings 21, and the cement or othermaterial 19 and 20, thus forming a guide for centering the drill stem asit is lowered, it being understood that the bit 25 may be retracted. Theupper portion of the cementitious filler 19 may be beveled, as at 31, soas to guide the drill stem into coaxial relation with the hollowcylinder 11, and this cementitious material 1.9 may be arranged withinthe cylinder at a distance from the hard formation which the drillpenetrates, so that one of the collars 28 will engage, or be in closeproximity to the filler 19 as the bit starts to penetrate the firmformation.

When it is necessary to resort to the use of a liner, it is necessary toremove the cementitious material 19 and 20 in addition to the part 18 inorder that the liner may be slid downwardly through the" cylinder, thedrill cutting a hole substantially the size of the internal diameter ofthe cylinder, thus permitting the liner to follow the drill with thehollow casing 30, and when the liner rests on firm formation, butprevents the floating sand flom entering the cavity formed by the drill,the bits may be removed and dressed, or replaced by different bits so asto cut a cavity as indicated at 32 equal to the internal diameter of theliner 29. Thus the liner will prevent the sand or other formation fromso acting upon the hollow casing 30 as to prevent it from beingwithdrawn.

After the cavity has been produced, open to the respective cylinder,through which the drilling apparatus has worked, the filling of thecavity and the cylinder may be proceeded with in substantially the samemanner as set forth in mv copending application for patent Serial Number671,015. suitable reenforcementl being used, when desired, thusproviding the pile .l extended from bed rock and incorporated in thesuperstructure. The cavity may be flushed clear of mud` and the waterremoved so as to permit of placing of the cementitious material in thedry, and likewise the water may be pumped from the interior of thehollow caisson H and the cementitious material introduced in the dry, orthe concrete may be placed through the water without draining.

It is to be observed that the concrete is placed between the cylinders11 and the form 12, between adjacent cylinders and .if desired a numberof piles 33 may be disposed within the wall formed by the cylinders 11,arranged in juxtaposition, by practicingl the method set forth in mycopending application for patent, methods'of producing subaqueousfoundations, piers, breakwaters, etc., Serial No. 672,538, filed Nov. 3,1923.

In reduction to practice I realize that the conditions concurrent withthe adoption of the method will necessarily vary, and I desire toemphasize the fact that various changes in the sequence of steps taken,in the method, may be resorted to, or steps omitted, when required ordesirable, without sacrificing the advantages of the method.

While I have herein referred to certain patents relating to rotarydrills, and to methods disclosed in copending applications, it is to be.distinctly understood that such are-.merely by way of example, and thatthe method may be carried out by the use of other apparatus than thatherein disclosed and referred to without departing from the spirit orscope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A, method of producing and placing piers which consists of loweringand steadying -a caisson having a plurality of upright ways until thelower end of the caisson rests in the hard yet compressible formationssubjacent to the body of water in which the pier is to be located;.drilling cavities open to' said upright ways through the formationsub-jacent to the body of water and removing 'the dislodged materialthrough said ways; lowering liners through said ways to follow thedrills'and lodge in any floating sand encountered in the formation;lowering hollow forms throughsaid ways and liner to follow the drill;and filling said cavities and ways with concrete from the bottomupwardly and removing said hollow forms as the filling progresses.

2. A method of producing and placing piers, which consists of, disposingand steadying a substantially light weight shell caisson, the boundarywalls of which are formed of a plurality of upright hollow cylindersdisposed in juxtaposed relation, with the lower portion of the cylindersresting in the hard, yet compressible, foundation subjacent to the body.of water in which the pier is to be located; drilling cavities open tosaid cylinders through the. formation and into the bed rock subjacent tosaid body of water and removing the dislodged .material through saidcylinders; and depositing a filler including cementitious material insaid cavities and cylinders to link said caisson to the bed rock.

3. A method. of producing and placing piers which consists ofprogressively building onto and lowering at the site and into the bodyof water where the pier is to be located, a hollow caisson including aplurality of hollow upright cylinders in juxtaposed relation havingtherein frangible closures adjacent' their lower ends to entlap air andbuoy the caisson; rupturing said frangible closures when the lowerportions of said cylinders have sunk into'the muddy bottom of the bodyof water so as to exclude the inrush of water when the lower portions ofthe cylinders are opened to the atmosphere;

drilling cavities open to said cylinders through the formation subjacentto the body of water; and disposing a filler including cementitiousmaterial in said cavities and cylinders.

4. A method of producing and placing piers which consists of disposingand steadying a caisson, the falls `of which include a plurality ofupright hollowi cylinders disposed in juxtaposed relation with the lowerportions of the cylinders in the hard, yet compressible, formationssubjacent to the body of water in which the pier is to be located;drilling cavities open to said cylinders through the formation subjacentto the body of water and removing the dislodged material thru saidcylinders; lowering liners through said cylinders to follow' the drilland lodgev in any ,ioating sand encountered in the formation; loweringhollow forms through said cylinders and liners to follow the drill; andfilling said cavities and cylinders'with concrete from bottom upwardlyand removing said hollow forms as the filling progresses.`

GEORGE B. SIPE.

